This marks the highest finish in Saint Leo
Athletics history, blowing the Lions’ previous high of
78th, set in 2012, out of the water. At the conclusion of all three
sports seasons, the Lions accumulated 490 points, more than
doubling the previous record of 232.75 from the 2012 standings.

Saint Leo wrapped-up its spring campaign
with 173.50 points, adding to the 155 points from the fall and
161.50 points from the winter sports. Women’s and men’s
cross country kicked-off the year with 32 and 48 points,
respectively, followed by men’s soccer adding 50 and
volleyball tacking on an additional 25. The winter season saw more
success thanks to men’s and women’s swimming earning 40
and 46.5 points, respectively, women’s basketball earning 25,
and men’s basketball netting 50. At the conclusion of the spring,
women’s golf pulled in 51.5 points, men’s golf earned
39, and women’s tennis finished with 83 points.

The Sunshine State Conference had seven of
its nine institutions place in the top 50, led by the University of
Tampa in 12th place with 562 points, and Saint Leo in
second. Nova
Southeastern earned 27th place with 446.50 points, and
Rollins finished right behind them in 28th place with
438 points. Barry
finished 34th with 423 points, while Florida Southern
claimed 44th after pulling in 374.50 points. Lynn University earned
47th with 366.75 points, while Florida Tech
(128th – 154.25 points) and Eckerd
(288th – 25 points) round out the SSC.

Grand Valley State claims its ninth
Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, finishing with
1,030 points and scoring in the maximum 14 sports, including
national championships in women’s cross country and
women’s soccer. The Lakers last won the title
following the 2010-11 season and finished second the past two
years.

West Texas A&M finishes as the
runner-up for the title with 708 points, marking the school’s
best finish. Central
Missouri takes home third place with 653.75 points, while
Indianapolis, with 649.75 points, finishes fourth. Rounding out the top five is
Ashland with 637 points. The Great Lakes Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference was the only conference to have two
institutions ranked in the top 10 – Grand Valley State (1st)
and Ashland (5th).

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup
was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of
Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are
awarded based on each institution's national finish in up to 14
sports -- seven women’s and seven men’s. Complete standings and the
scoring structure can be found on NACDA’s website at www.directorscup.org.

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